Winterpills
"The Light Divides"
(Signature Sound)
Sounds Like: Elliot Smith and Shawn Colvin shot with tranquilizer darts.
Grade: C
Following their 2005 debut, Massachusetts-based Winterpills have returned with their first studio album, "The Light Divides," a record so mundane that it makes watching grass grow a riveting alternative.
According to singer/keyboardist Flora Reed, the album began as a series of casual demo recordings at her house. Then, before she knew it, they were making a full-length record in a studio. Too bad they left the basement.
"The Light Divides" opens with the delicate track "Lay Your Heartbreak," which, like the album, offers traces of promise.
Unfortunately, it loses its way once Reed opens her mouth. At first, her soothing backing vocals provided a welcome, warm hue. Yet hearing her aggravating moans and hums track after track becomes torturous. Reed's best work is when she is silent.
Lead singer Philip Prince's drawn out, whiney vocals only assure his fate as a poor man's Elliott Smith. He helped initiate a third act comeback for the album, with his haunting vocals on "June Eyes" and "Angels Fall," the most instrumentally diverse track.
Unfortunately, the last two tracks on the album are the worst, making it all too satisfying to inflict a hateful one-star-rating upon both songs in an iTunes library.
Prince is a little too confident in his voice range and the downright painful tracks "You Still Don't Live Long Enough" and "A Folded Cloth" serve as evidence, wherein Prince sounds like a dog in heat at best.
Culminating in an instantly forgettable 45 minutes, "The Light Divides" is a truly unremarkable album that offers a few decent peaks here and there, and a whole lot of monotonous garbage in between.
-DONNY T. SHELDON
Lily Allen
"Alright, Still"
(Capitol)
Sounds like: A unique mix of pop and ska hailing from the other side of the Atlantic.
Grade: A
Lily Allen infuses satirical lyrics with a funky fresh sound on her American debut album, "Alright, Still." Her sassy tune sets her apart from other British singers trying to hop across the pond.
The album starts off with a bang with the track "Smile," a deliciously vindictive song about getting revenge on an ex-boyfriend. The next two tracks are just as cheeky, with "Knock 'Em Out" advising how to get rid of sleazy guys and "LDN" talking about the seedier aspects of London over a sunny, effervescent tune.
The album continues on with other hits such as the female empowerment tune "Everything's Just Wonderful" and the slower ballad "Little Things," any of which could be singles.
The only song that seems out of place is "Take What You Take," which takes on a rock 'n' roll approach that pales in comparison to the other songs on the album.
Allen is a genius with lyrics, even rhyming weight loss with Kate Moss. With catchy tunes and fantastic lyrics, this album is sure to be a hit.
-ASHLEIGH BARTOLIK
Dr. Dog
"We All Belong"
(Park The Van)
Sounds like: Our new Beatles. Fall down and begin praying to them.
Grade A-
Hailing from Philadelphia, retro rockers Dr. Dog have come a long way from Geno's. Since recently touring with a plethora of indie talent, including Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, My Morning Jacket, Black Keys and the Cold War Kids, they have gained a strong national following and critical acclaim for their past EPs.
In between tour dates, they found time to settle down and record their latest album, "We All Belong."
Recorded on a 24-track, two-inch tape machine, the sounds produced are noticeably rougher than most bands today, but that's what makes Dr. Dog a standout in the indie rock world. If the record hadn't been cut with now ancient technique, it just wouldn't be appropriate - their previous works were cut on 8-tracks.
The low-fi result gives Dr. Dog an honest, late-'60s, early-'70s sound and vibe. Critics have compared them to The Shins, but their complex harmonious arrangements as well as innovative style recall the psychedelic Beach Boys or Todd Rundgren.
The album opens with pleasantly arranged rock songs like "Old News" and "Don't Pretend," but as the album rolls along, it grows into a more elaborate and layered sound, especially in tunes like "Alaska," "Ain't it Strange" and "Die, Die, Die."
The last track, "We All Belong," was clearly recorded with a mindset that it would be the last thing people would hear.
The epic opus erupts, collapses and completes an album that is thoroughly satisfying. It is both reminiscent and respecting of so many good bands past that so many bands today have forgotten.
-MATT TICE
